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“Hell, no!” I told him emphatically. “Letting you out again will get me expelled for sure. Besides, do you really think seeing a glowing golden eye the size of a dinner plate looking in through her window would make Kaitlyn feel safer? Mierda! You’d scare her to death!”
My Drake grumbled and I got the very strong feeling from him that he thought if Kaitlyn was only allowed to meet him, he could win her over. Which of course couldn’t happen here in the human world, as I pointed out to him. Then he wanted to know why we couldn’t take her to the Sky Lands, where he was free to be himself and he could spend as much time with her as was needed for her to get to know him.
Dios, sometimes the stupid beast inside me had no fucking common sense.
I shut him down and turned over in bed, determined to get back to sleep. But it wasn’t until I felt Kaitlyn slip back to sleep herself—somewhere across town—that I was finally able to relax.
As my breathing deepened and my Drake at last was silent, my last conscious thoughts were of her. And my last feelings were those of possession and longing.
She was mine, at least as far as my Drake was concerned—I just didn’t know how I was ever going to claim her.
3
Kaitlyn
I felt tired and worn-out the next morning, almost as though I hadn’t had any sleep at all. Plus, the bright Florida sunshine when I walked outside hurt my eyes.
“Are you feeling quite well, Kaitlyn?” Mrs. Breedlove asked me in that cool, formal tone of hers. “You look somewhat under the weather. Did Allegra have another nightmare and keep you up last night?”
“She did, but it’s all right,” I said quickly, not wanting to get Allegra into trouble. “She climbed in bed with me and went straight back to sleep.”
“Ah yes—it’s such a trial when she has a nightmare on the weekdays.” Mrs. Breedlove sighed in a put-upon way. “I’ve thought about hiring a weekday overnight nanny, but she simply doesn’t want anyone but you.”
“She’s my little sweetheart,” I said, smiling and meaning it.
Despite both of us being up in the middle of the night, Allegra had been as bright and bubbly as ever at breakfast—which was bagged blood for everyone but me, of course. I had a slice of bread and jam—my usual breakfast when I was at the Breedlove’s house. Being Nocturnes, they didn’t like the smell of cooking human food, so I mostly lived on cold sandwiches when I was there.
That morning my bread and strawberry jam hadn’t held much appeal for me, however. The tastes of the food had been muted somehow—like someone had wrapped my tongue in cotton to keep me from tasting it properly. I really hoped I wasn’t getting a cold but between my dulled senses and the tired, draggy feeling that persisted, I thought I must be.
I had thrown the rest of my sandwich away and downed two glasses of cold water instead. Along with a dry mouth, my throat felt parched and I was extremely thirsty—I must be getting a cold.
“Well, let’s get you over to the Academy.” Mrs. Breedlove sighed and I knew she found dropping me off an imposition, even though it was only a drive of a few miles from her stately house on Kings Street to the orange grove that hid the huge castle. Frostproof—the little town in Central Florida where Nocturne Academy was situated—was so small that no place was more than a few miles away.
“Mama, can I come with you?” Allegra poked her head out the front door to say.
“I’m afraid not, Allegra.” Anastasia Breedlove frowned. “Go back inside and tell Mimi to watch you. I’ll be back directly.”
Mimi was the downstairs maid who doubled as a babysitter sometimes when I wasn’t available and Mrs. Breedlove had to run an errand.
Allegra pouted.
“Puleeze?” she wheedled. “I won’t get to see Katy forever, Mama!”
I couldn’t help smiling. When you’re only four going on five, a week can seem like forever. But I knew better than to annoy Mrs. Breedlove.
“Come give me one last hug, Allegra,” I told her. “And then go back inside and ask Mimi to help you find the note I left you—it has a secret message on it.”
“A secret message? Really?” Her blue eyes widened in excitement as she flew down the porch steps and flung herself into my arms.
“Yes, really!” I lifted her up and swung her around, my fatigue momentarily forgotten. She was such a sunny, happy little girl it was impossible to feel sad or down around her. It was one reason I loved her so much.
Allegra covered my face with kisses—the right side of it anyway—the unscarred side. I was careful to keep the left side hidden with my long black hair, which had thankfully somehow grown back thicker than ever after The Fire.
